


Southern Comfort

by DoesEulerDreamofComplexSheep



Series: If Music Be the Food of Love [2]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort, F/F, F/M, Highschool AU(ish), Infidelity, Summer, Toxic Relationship References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24451261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoesEulerDreamofComplexSheep/pseuds/DoesEulerDreamofComplexSheep
Summary: Chloe finds her best friend, Beca, distraught in the Texas night, and tries to comfort the girl she secretly loves.Inspired by the song "Soco Amaretto Lime" by Brand New.
Relationships: Beca Mitchell/Jesse Swanson, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Series: If Music Be the Food of Love [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1609105
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	Southern Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> _Passed out on the overpass  
>  Sunday best and broken glass  
> Broken down from the bikes and bars  
> Suspended like spirits over speeding cars  
> You and me were kings  
> Over the parkway tonight_
> 
> I own none of the characters, or any part of the song, and any mistakes are my own.

Chloe Beale looked up at the stars dusted across the expanse of inky blue sky above her in the humid Texas night. The air was still, offering no breeze to break the heat and a thin sheen of sweat lay on her skin. She had her wavy auburn hair pulled up in a quick messy bun on the top of her head. She'd had her hair up all day and would have loved to let it down, but the thought of having anything that didn't strictly have to touch her in contact with her skin in this heat would have been too uncomfortable to bear. The quiet hum of traffic somewhere ahead and the rhythmic chorus of katydids surrounded her, being broken up only by the sounds of her feet crunching on the rocks and sand of the path she was following through the woods. The woods were dark, but there was enough reflected orange glow from the highway she was walking towards, and she was so familiar with the path that her footing was confident. 

The telltale diamond pattern of a chain link fence came into view and Chloe picked up her pace a little, her footsteps echoing off the trees. The path took a ninety degree bend to the left as it neared the fence, but Chloe ignored it and walked on. The small undergrowth that lined the edge of the path was beaten down a little at the turn; obviously Chloe wasn't the only one who ignored the path and headed this way. As she reached the base of the fence Chloe glanced to either side of her. There was no one as far as she could see as the fence stretched into the darkness of the woods in either direction, not that Chloe really expected it, but she didn't feel like getting hassled by a cop for straying onto the thruway authority's land. 

She coiled her leg muscles slightly and leapt up. She was an athletic girl, she had competed on the track team since she was a freshman, and her arms easily reached the top of the fence as she reached the apex of her jump. The young woman's fingers grasped the cool steel that made up the top railing, and she felt the sharp edges of the metal mesh abrade her skin, but she ignored it and pulled herself up using her arm muscles until she could swing her right leg over the fence. Using her leg to anchor herself she twisted, allowing the rest of her body to follow over. As she cleared the structure she pushed off lightly to make sure she didn't catch anything on her way down and dropped, landing in a crouch as she let her legs absorb the energy of the fall. The woods stopped at the fence, and on this side it was only ankle high grass and a few small resilient shrubs that the monthly mowing couldn't quash. Chloe always admired how dogged mother nature was, in the face of all the effort humans put into shaping their world, something as small and simple as a shrub would simply spring back, over and over, long after they were all gone. 

The ground stretched ahead of her about fifteen or twenty feet then fell away, the dark outline of the ground stopping as the hill sloped sharply, flirting with being a ledge. Beyond lay the expanse of a valley, the roar of traffic more pronounced without the woods to dampen the sound. On the other side of the valley the hillside climbed lazily, with roads and houses climbing up above where Chloe stood on the other side. To her right slightly the organic outline of the ground was interrupted by the sharp and clean lines of a man made shape, and that was where Chloe was headed. She continued walking until she reached the shape, a concrete pad standing fifty feet wide at the edge of the precipitous drop-off. 

The flat concrete nearby served as the canvas for a scorched and soot covered area where someone had obviously burned a fire. Blackened lumps of glass that were probably the remnants of broken beer bottles were scattered amidst the charred stubs of burnt out logs and lumber. Farther down the concrete was a bit cleaner, a wash of dirt and small stones clung to the ground, but it was free of garbage and broken glass, and here Chloe found what she was looking for; another girl sitting alone on the concrete abutment.

She looked a little bit younger than Chloe, petite with pale skin and hair that looked like the color of chocolate in the dim light. She had well defined features and was sitting with her legs hanging into the void before her. Her name was Beca Mitchell, and she had been Chloe's best friend since before Chloe could remember much of anything. 

Ahead and below, at least seventy five feet down the steeply sloped hill, was the thruway. Cars noisily roared down the four lanes of blacktop, busy even now in the minutes past midnight. In a different time a railroad had run across the valley, and the abutment had been the anchor for one side of the bridge, but times had changed and the railway had long since passed its usefulness. As Chloe approached the edge a few feet away from the girl neither of them spoke. The sight of the drop was slightly dizzying, but the tanned redhead ignored it and squatted down, using her hand to brush away some of the gravel and dust that had collected along the concrete, then sat down in the spot she had cleared. Beca made no movement to indicate that she had noticed Chloe, and instead her left hand brought a glass bottle of spirits to her lips and she took a small pull, then placed it back protectively between her legs.

"What're you drinking tonight?" Chloe asked, her voice feeling loud to her after hearing only the sounds of the night since she left her house twenty minutes earlier. Beca turned and met her gaze.

"Uh, tonight we've got this lovely soco amaretto lime made with only the best spirits." 

Chloe giggled and shook her head, replying, "Funny, Becs, cause that looks like a twelve dollar bottle of Old Crow." 

Beca tipped the bottle in her lap, looking down at the label and offered a sad, quiet laugh.

"Yeah, something like that. Want some?"

Chloe nodded and held her hand out in response. Beca passed her the bottle, the slender bones of her hands outstretched. The glass felt cool against Chloe's skin, a welcome contrast to the stifling summer air.. She raised the bottle to her lips and felt the heat on her tongue as the liquid spilled into her mouth. It wasn't too bad, but it was bourbon, and it still burned where it touched the back of her throat as she swallowed. She gasped slightly as she handed the bottle back to Beca, who took another sip. Neither bothered to wipe the mouth of the bottle; they'd shared so many drinks that neither particularly cared about drinking after one another. Beca finished, placing the bottle on the concrete between them. 

"Your parents fighting again?" Chloe questioned when Beca didn't offer any explanation after a few moments. Beca nodded, her lips set tightly in a thin line. She pulled her legs up from over the edge, hugging them to her chest. Chloe let the silence grow and surround them until it felt like it was a bubble that drowned everything else out. Just her and Beca, as she gave her friend the space she knew she needed before she was ready to speak. To anyone else it might feel uncomfortable or wasteful, but Chloe knew Beca didn't always find it easy to approach emotions or tough topics, and she needed to come to things in her own time.

"He cheated again," the small girl said finally. "He forgot to log out of his email and Mom saw all these emails with some woman named Sheila and she -" Beca paused, her voice catching in the back of her throat. The brunette's eyes watered, but after a moment she continued. Chloe listened, watching Beca as she spoke.

"There were all these messages between the two of them, talking about the stuff they were doing and - so they started getting into it tonight. I guess the emails were really graphic and Mom was furious and then Dad said he was leaving. He said that he loved her and that he-" Beca stopped mid sentence as a single sob escaped. 

"He said that they had talked about it and he is going to Atlanta."

The last words came out in a rush as the dam burst and Beca lost control, tears streaming down her cheeks. Chloe slid closer to Beca, reaching her arm around the shorter girl's shoulder and pulling her in as her smaller girl's frame shook with sobs. They sat in the close heat of the night, neither saying anything as Beca cried. Beca's parents had been fighting for years, so this wasn't really new territory. They had actually split up for about a year and a half when Beca was twelve. Her father had gotten his own apartment across town and Beca lived with her mother. Chloe remembered how confusing and hard that time had been for Beca, but she still saw her dad every week, and after a while he and her mother got back together. Chloe figured that they were 'doing it for the kids', but it was hard to buy that with how miserable everyone around them ended up. Chloe ran her hands over Beca's hair, smoothing it under her fingertips, hoping that it might comfort her friend. The sweet-tangy smell of Beca's shampoo filled Chloe's nostrils, the unusual combination of grapefruit and vanilla with a subtle musky thread of amber. Chloe loved that smell. She had been smelling it every day since Beca first found it, and it grounded her like little else she had found. After a while - Chloe wasn't sure if it had been two minutes or twenty, honestly - Beca's breathing returned to normal as she calmed, but she made no move to pull away.

"I feel like they broke me Chlo," Beca said. Her voice was barely a whisper, but they were close enough Chloe could hear her clearly over the passing traffic. "Like, I don't know how to love anybody because all I saw growing up was them."

Chloe shook her head, leaning back as Beca sat up again, her knees tucking back into her chest once more. Chloe settled into a more comfortable position, crossing her legs and facing Beca who was looking at the tops of her knees, her fingers fidgeting nervously with the fabric at the edge bottom of her tank top.

"You're not broken Becs."

Beca's chest swelled with her breath and she exhaled in a long sigh, "Jesse said I didn't know how to not shut everyone out. Maybe that's why we broke up, maybe I made it too hard."

Chloe felt her blood begin to heat. Jesse had had a crush on Beca since seventh grade, and he had always followed her around like a puppy dog. Beca and he were friends, but she had never been interested in him. Beca never seemed to be interested in anyone, really, but last year Jesse asked Beca out for what Chloe swore must have been the millionth time, and Beca finally said yes. They seemed happy to Chloe, Beca even told her that she thought she loved him. Hearing that had killed Chloe, but she wanted Beca to be happy, even if she never saw what Beca saw. Jesse was always pushing Beca to watch movies she hated, and Chloe was always hearing stories about the ways Jesse didn't think Beca was being a good girlfriend. Chloe hated hearing Beca doubt herself in those conversations, and she hated that Jesse didn't seem to want to bother to see how amazing Beca was, and if Chloe was really being honest, she hated that he had Beca and she didn't.

Chloe had realized that she liked girls as much as she liked boys when she was a freshman, right around when she realized how beautiful Beca was. She hadn't thought much about it, Beca was gorgeous; Chloe had eyes, and they worked, that was all. It wasn't anything more. It wasn't a very long journey, however, from her realization that she liked girls, to her admitting to herself that she had a growing crush on Beca. She had never said anything however. Beca had never brought up if she had any interest in girls, and even if she did, Chloe was terrified that if Beca didn't feel the same way it could ruin their friendship, and Chloe couldn't bear that idea. She couldn't imagine losing Beca, even if she could only have her as a friend, and she didn't want Beca to be alone. It still stung, however, hearing those stories about her relationship with Jesse..

"I don't mean to push people away, I just - it's just easier sometimes, you know? Every time Jess said he loved me I just remembered how my Dad said the same thing, and he still walked out the door. That's just what people do, y'know? So if everyone goes then just why bother? Like, it felt like if I have a wall around me nobody can hurt me. Maybe Jesse's right, I make it impossible for anyone to love me."

"What?!" Chloe said, more sharply than she meant to, but her emotions got the better of her. If her blood felt hot before it was truly beginning to boil with this news. "What did he say?"

Beca eyed Chloe, her lip caught between her lips nervously, looking away as she spoke.

"It's nothing."

Chloe shook her head angrily, and took Beca's wrist, leaning down to make contact and only straightening when the brunette followed her eyes.

"It's not nothing, what did he say?"

Beca glanced fleetingly at Chloe before retreating into herself again. She straightened herself up with a sigh, folding her hands and resting her wrists on her knees.

"He said that I was too difficult." Beca said, looking back at Chloe and holding her gaze this time. Her eyes were etched with guilt, and they looked black in the darkness, even though Chloe knew they were a rich navy, peppered with flecks of gray. "When he broke up with me he said he thought I made it impossible for anybody to get through my defenses and love me."

Chloe's heart broke with every single word, and again as she saw the pain and hurt written on the brunette's face. Beca shrugged, and coughed out a short bitter laugh. 

"Maybe he's right. Like, I only went out with him because I was too scared to tell someone else how I felt. Maybe I-" Beca stopped and then her face changed, like she said something she shouldn't have. Chloe was confused, they shared literally everything, so she didn't understand why Beca would look nervous sharing something. She was also surprised hearing Beca mention wanting to tell someone else how she felt, Beca had never talked to Chloe about anyone other than Jesse. Chloe put her confusion out of her head, needing Beca to know that Jesse couldn't be farther from right. She reached her hand out and gently placed her fingers on Beca's wrist. She wanted to hold her hand, to give her more contact for Beca, because Chloe was a touch person, but she knew Beca wasn't, not really. Beca looked back up at her as she felt Chloe's hand.

"Look, that's bullshit." Chloe said, her voice serious. Beca's eyes widened, both at Chloe's rare profanity, and also because she didn't seem to expect the hard edge Chloe's voice had taken. 

"Nobody's perfect Beca, but you and Jesse not working wasn't because you're messed up. And just because Jesse couldn't be bothered to try understanding you instead of making you marathon movies you didn't like or trying to tell you to change who you are then he was an idiot, and you deserve better, because I-" Chloe paused, her mouth open as she realized what she almost said, and she policed herself.

"Because I know you'll find somebody who loves the real you." _Someone like me_ , Chloe desperately wanted to say.

Beca's eyes were still wide with shock, but a small smile was starting to threaten the edges of her mouth. 

"Thanks Chlo." Beca said softly. Her eyes darted to her hands and back to Chloe.

"And maybe you're right. About Jesse being an idiot, I mean. He doesn't like pineapple on pizza, how smart could he be?" Chloe smiled as the tension broke with Beca's joke and she started giggling. Beca returned the smile and joined her. Soon the two were fighting for breath as their peels of laughter drowned out the hum of the early morning. Chloe wiped her eyes, tears blinding her, and Beca was bent over trying to catch her breath. As they quieted Chloe's eyes found Beca's once again. The brunette's eyes had always reminded her of the storm churned Bering sea that she had seen in a documentary once; the impossibly dark blue waters cresting into gray caps, both enigmatic and unpredictable, but still brimming with an indescribable power. When Chloe looked into Beca's eyes she could understand why sailors talked about falling in love with the sea. Without meaning to Chloe's eyes darted to the brunette's lips, and she hoped the move was missed in the dim light. Beca said nothing. She worked her jaw in a little yawn, then leaned into Chloe, and Chloe didn't complain, the heat be damned. They sat like that and listened to the cars rushing far below as Chloe hummed a few bars to one of their favorite songs.

"So who's the mystery person you were afraid to talk to?" Beca tilted her head up at the sound of Chloe's, not moving off her shoulder, but angling so she could meet the redhead's eyes. Chloe wasn't sure where the question came from, it was almost like the words tumbled off her lips of their own accord, but now that they were said she knew she needed to know. As much as she didn't want to hear more about how Beca wanted someone else she wanted her friend to be happy even more. Beca didn't answer, but Chloe sensed motion in the dim light before them and she knew Beca's hands would be fidgeting, her fingers worrying against one another.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" Beca asked. Chloe knew she was avoiding the question, whatever reason Beca had for not wanting to talk to Chloe about this, pushing would only cause problems. Chloe breathed a whisper of a sigh through her nose and nodded, pushing herself up and dusting the backs of her legs of any dirt. She stretched her hand out to Beca and the younger woman took it, her pale delicate fingers wrapping around Chloe's and she helped pull the younger girl to her feet. Chloe resisted the urge to let her hand follow Beca's as it fell to the brunette's side and the two faced one another. 

"I'm parked at the trailhead over by the quarry."

Chloe nodded her head toward the stand of trees where she had jumped the fence, and Beca nodded. The two made their way into the woods and walked through the darkness. Their conversation came easily, the two talking about nothing and everything in the way that old friends often find natural. 

Chloe could see the road ahead of them, the trees thinning as they neared the parking area. They hadn't seen or heard any traffic on their walk, but that was to be expected at this time of tonight. The road that ran alongside them only led to the parking area that served the trails they were walking on and the stone quarry, which wouldn't open for another few hours. Beca reached the end of the trail first, the lone street lamp which illuminated the parking lot casting a harsh shadow at the edge of the path where the full summer leaves blocked most of the light. 

"Beca, wait." Chloe called out, and Beca paused, turning to face her friend, the light silhouetting her, and Chloe swallowed as she tried to bring herself to once again push her feelings about Beca into the back of her mind.

"If you don't want to talk to me about it," Chloe began, closing the distance between them and squinting as the harsh yellow glow from the light shone in her eyes over Beca's shoulder, "that's fine."

It was a complete lie, and Chloe was sure that somewhere they both knew it, and Beca's guilty expression certainly betrayed it. 

"Chlo, it's not that I-" 

Chloe shook her head and lay her hand on the back of Beca's, stilling her.

"But I think that you should tell whoever it is how you feel." As Chloe finished Beca looked down at her feet, her features hidden in shadow.

"Even if they don't feel that way, if they're worth anything it will be OK, and I think life is too short to have regrets, y'know?"

Beca finally looked back up, and spoke so softly her voice was barely a whisper.

"You really think that?" Beca asked. Chloe's stomach twisted as she imagined Beca professing her affections to anyone else, but she ignored it and tried to summon her most convincing smile. It was easier said than done with as tired as she felt and how emotionally tapped out as she was.

"Totes." 

Beca offered the smallest of nods, and turned back toward the car, seeming to be lost in thought. They left the darkness of the treeline, the warm yellow-orange glow of the single lamp dripping over them like melted caramel. The grimy steel pole was probably older than Chloe, the young girl mused, but a town like theirs wasn't going to blow money upgrading this dirt parking lot to one of those harsh, blue-white LED lights, so this one would probably be kept burning forever. Chloe stopped short of her car. Beca was on the driver side, facing away from her by the driver's side of the trunk.

"Forget which side you're on Beca?" she said, playfully as she started to move around her friend, the brown dirt and gravel noisily settling under her feet. 

Beca didn't say anything, but she turned, and Chloe wasn't sure what to make of her expression; defiance? Resolved? She was about to ask Beca if she was alright but her train of thought was derailed as the smaller girl moved into her space as Chloe walked past, rocking up on her tip-toes and leaning her body into Chloe. Her lips closed the gap between them to nothing in the thick Texas night, and they were kissing.

Chloe had heard people talk about time standing still, and now she understood. That one moment stretched out like a highway; black and hot and endless, an infinite line stretching away with only the thrum of tires underneath her as nothingness washed over everything from horizon to horizon. All that in less than the blink of an eye. Chloe froze, her mind incapable of processing anything more than the soft heat of Beca against the skin on her lips. Chloe vaguely recognized that she could feel the other girl's fingertips as they brushed over her cheek, and a small hidden part of Chloe's mind glowed with a warmth that she couldn't have imagined getting from a thousand summers at the idea that Beca Mitchell was holding her cheek as she kissed her. Then it ended, and Beca pulled away, her eyes wide, catching Chloe's as she came back to the ground. Almost as if she was as taken back by the kiss as Chloe was.

"Wow." Chloe whispered, still standing rigid, her body refusing to listen to her commands. Beca's look of surprised shock immediately fell to terror and her hand clapped over her mouth.

"I'm so sorry, I thought- I shouldn't- I'm sorry!" she blurted out, her mind apparently doing flips over itself. Before Chloe could shake herself out of her stupor the pale girl turned on her heels and sprinted away, nearly tripping over her own feet as she went. Realization crashed over Chloe like a frigid wave, her heart seizing in the icy shock of how badly she had messed up that moment. She was so stunned and caught up in the glee her lizard brain took from having her dreams realized that she utterly missed the impossible vulnerability that Beca had exposed, and how completely wrong her reaction had been. It wasn't all her fault, she rationalize -, she had never imagined Beca would return her feelings - but that was a cold comfort if she had accidentally ruined their friendship because she was a stunned mess over that kiss. She took off after Beca a few heartbeats later, hoping that she could fix things, and daring to wonder for the first time if she had a chance of happiness with Beca as more than a friend.

Beca was small and quick, but she didn't have the stride or practice that Chloe had, and the redhead was nearly on Beca by the time they reached the edge of the parking lot. 

"Beca, stop." Chloe rushed out, the sticky humidity accelerating the exertion caused by the short run. If Beca heard her she didn't react, and with two more paces her feet fell quietly on grass, Chloe's sneakers crushing the dry blades just a moment later. Chloe pulled to within arms reach of Beca and tried to gently grab at Beca's wrist to stop her, but the brunette twisted and pulled her hand free before straightening her pace and rushing forward. They were at the tree line and Beca crashed into the woods, small branches whipping at her hair and face. A small sapling bowed and bent out of her way, but not before the thin trunk caught the shorter girl's foot and she stumbled to the ground. Beca sagged, not trying to get back up, and Chloe took the opportunity to catch up to her. As she slowed she could hear the sniffles of Beca's breathing, and the redhead could tell her friend was crying. She came beside Beca, carefully stepping around the sapling that had tripped her friend, and I knelt beside her. 

"Are you OK Becs?" 

The younger woman shook her head, her sobs.

"I fucked it up. I always fuck everything up."

Chloe's stomach churned and she could practically taste the acid in her throat with how sick Beca's words and her cries made her feel.

"You didn't fuck anything up."

"Of course I did. I'm so stupid, you were just being you, because you're perfect, but I thought you were telling me you knew, so I just thought I should go for it, but you obviously didn't because how could you?" Beca rushed out, barely stopping to breath with a loud sniff, and rushing back into talking before Chloe could even talk.

"I get it, I mean you're you, and like, I'm just me. I'm just Beca, so I get it. I totally do. I'm sorry, please don't hate me, just forget I was so stupid, please don't hate me."

Chloe bit her lip, desperately trying not to smile, because as horrible as she felt Beca was just vomiting nonsense in such a perfectly Beca way and it was making Chloe's heart ache.

"Of course I don't hate you Beca." Chloe said, putting her arms around Beca and hugging her close. "I love you way too much to hate you."

Beca sniffed again loudly, looking over her shoulder at Chloe.

"You don't?"

"Of course I don't. I just told you I love you."

Beca's breathing slowed as she took a few deep breaths, fighting for control of her breathing. Chloe said nothing, waiting for Beca to be comfortable rather than pressing the conversation. Beca sniffed again then gave up and wiped her nose with her shirt sleeve. Chloe brought her hand up to Beca's cheek and carefully wiped the tear that was creeping down. Beca gave a sad smile.

"You're too good to me Chlo. I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

Chloe's eyes narrowed, registering Beca's words, and she shook her head as she uttered a small, amused scoff.

"Beca, I just told you I loved you."

Beca's brows arched up, clearly not following Chloe's logic.

"I know, Chloe, I said I was lucky to have you."

Chloe stared at her, her eyebrows tented in amazement. She was baffled at how Beca seemed to have missed her point, and she simply watched her friend as she waited for Beca to get there. Beca's eyes narrowed as her expression began to change, the slow realization creeping into her face. Chloe could see the switch was moving on the lightbulb.

"You mean you love me?" Beca asked, her emphasis on the word 'love'. She was barely speaking above a whisper, and her voice was full of vulnerability, like she expected to be woken from a dream.

Chloe shifted her hand to cup Beca's cheek, her heart thundering in her chest, unable to believe she was about to say the next words out loud.

"I mean I'm super in love with you Becs."

Beca sniffed, then laughed once as her smile threatened to swallow her entire face. Her eyes were still glistening with unshed tears, but Chloe was certain they weren't sad ones. She let her gaze wander over Beca's face, for once not afraid of being caught, and found her eyes drawn to Beca's lips. Her eyes flitted back to Beca's and realized that she had been studying her face as well, and Chloe was now certain the beautiful brunette kept glancing at her lips in return. Chloe swallowed, her throat feeling tight. She felt like she could hear her own pulse hammering in her ears like the steady staccato of a drumbeat, and she felt emboldened. Slowly, she leaned sideways, the space between the two girls vanishing. Chloe couldn't hear the drone of insects or the distant interstate; there was nothing that existed outside of her own rapid heartbeat and the hint of Beca's breath as it ghosted on her cheek. Chloe didn't dare take her eyes off of Beca's, the other girl completely still. She paused, her lips hovering and almost imperceptible distance away.

Chloe wanted to give Beca a chance to be sure. Chloe closed her eyes, terrified and more excited than she could ever remember being, fighting not to count her own heartbeats as she waited for Beca. Then she wasn't waiting and Beca's lips pressed against hers, tentative, but unafraid. They parted for an instant, Chloe's eyes open in surprise. Beca's gorgeous face looked back into hers, the question unspoken but evident. _Is this alright?_ Chloe rubbed her thumb over the soft skin of the brunette's cheek, her fingers curling around the slender, porcelain skin of Beca's neck, and softly guided her back to Chloe. Beca sighed through her nose and settled her weight into the other girl's arms.

Chloe felt fingertips tracing over the lines of her collarbone, exploring chastely. Chloe hummed in eager surprise when Beca's lips were the first to part, her tongue teasing the taller woman's lips and Chloe eagerly followed suit. She couldn't resist and her free hand slid up Beca's back, tracing the lines of her tank top, over the small but strong muscles on Beca's shoulders, then slid into tangled tresses of espresso colored hair, lightly scratching the sensitive skin underneath. Neither tried to deepen the kiss; as much as there was an air of shared need, they were both exhausted. Chloe decided to slow the kiss, pulling away only to have Beca chase her lips, peppering a string of tiny, gentle pecks until she relented and sat back on her heels. Chloe kept her hand on Beca's cheek but brought her hand to Beca's palm, lacing their fingers together, and the brunette smiled, catching her lower lip between her teeth nervously, then she giggled happily. Chloe grinned as she noticed Beca's tongue snake out between her teeth; perfectly Beca. The brunette policed her features suddenly, clearly trying to pull off a serious face.

"So you're in love with me?" Chloe cocked one eyebrow at the hint of smugness in Beca's voice, then rolled her eyes at how goofy the other girl was being.

"Super in love." the redhead corrected, giving a playful shove to the girl beside her.

"I guess it's a good thing I love you too." 

Chloe grinned, and her chest felt like it would explode hearing those words. Not imagined, not followed by bitter tears for what could never be; but out loud, whispered from kiss swollen lips by the woman she adored. 

"Yeah," Chloe conceded, nodding as she looked down, her chin tucked to her chest. "Yeah, I guess that's pretty great." 

She tugged Beca's hand with hers, bringing it to her lips, and she planted a small, short kiss on the back of her hand before snuggling into Beca, holding their hands to her chest, and resting her head on the shorter girl's shoulder.

"You tired?" 

Chloe tilted her head up slightly, her eyes finishing the journey to meet Beca's.

"A little. Do you want to go home?"

Beca smiled, but didn't reply at first. Finally, she shook her head, looking back to the parking area, her face half lit by the distant light. In the still air she began humming, and Chloe immediately recognized the one she had begun earlier. After a few moments the hum died in her throat as she began to sing in earnest.

_And tonight will go on forever as we walk around this town like we own the streets, and stay awake through summer like we own the heat._

Chloe smiled and sat back up, her voice ringing out and harmonizing with Beca's, edging slightly higher than Beca's rich alto notes.

_Singing everybody wake up, it's time to get down._

The girls fell back to silence, and after only a moment the vibrant thrum of the katydids washed over them, punctuated by a barn owl hooting as it searched for mice. Beca rocked forward and rolled onto her feet, standing, then offered her hand to Chloe.

"C'mon Chlo," she said with a grin, "let's go for a ride."


End file.
